Fiber grating moisture and chemical sensing system

ABSTRACT

Fiber grating environmental measurement systems are comprised of sensors that are configured to respond to changes in moisture or chemical content of the surrounding medium through the action of coatings and plates inducing strain that is measured. These sensors can also be used to monitor the interior of bonds for degradation due to aging, cracking, or chemical attack. Means to multiplex these sensors at high speed and with high sensitivity can be accomplished by using spectral filters placed to correspond to each fiber grating environmental sensor. By forming networks of spectral elements and using wavelength division multiplexing arrays of fiber grating sensors may be processed in a single fiber line allowing distributed high sensitivity, high bandwidth fiber optic grating environmental sensor systems to be realized.

REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS

This disclosure describes means to enhance the speed and sensitivity offiber grating sensors systems to measure environmental effects and meansto multiplex these sensors while retaining high speed characteristics.The background of these types of fiber grating sensors may be found inU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,995, 5,402,231, 5,592,965, 5,841,131 and 6,144,026.The teachings in those patents are incorporated into this disclosure byreference as though fully set forth below.

This application is a divisional of patent Ser. No. 09/746,037, grantedDec. 22, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,600,149. This application claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/173,359 by Whitten L.Schulz, John Seim and Eric Udd, entitled, “Fiber Grating EnvironmentalSensing System” which was filed on Dec. 27, 1999. This invention wasmade with Government support from contract DE-FG03-99ER82753 awarded byDOE and by contracts N68335-98-C-0122 and N68335-99-C-0242 awarded byNAVAIR. The government has certain rights to this invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to fiber optic grating systems and moreparticularly, to the measurement of environmental effects using fiberoptic grating sensors. Typical fiber optic grating sensor systems aredescribed in detail in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,995, 5,402,231, 5,592,965,5,841,131 and 6,144,026.

The need for low cost, a high performance fiber optic gratingenvironmental sensor system that is capable of long term environmentalmonitoring, virtually immune to electromagnetic interference and passiveis critical for such applications as moisture sensing and monitoring ofadhesive bonds: Another advantage of these system is that when they areappropriately configured the frequency response of the system can bevery high.

The present invention includes multi-axis fiber grating sensors that maybe used to sense axial strain and temperature, or axial and transversestrain simultaneously to detect chemical changes such as moisture byusing appropriate transducers or changes to the structural integrity ofcoatings such as adhesive bonds. Means are also described to multiplexthese fiber grating sensors allowing high sensitivity and high speedmeasurements to be made.

In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,995 and 5,397,891 fiber grating demodulationsystems are described that involve single element fiber gratings andusing spectral filters to demodulate fiber gratings. The presentinvention includes means to extend the demodulation system to multiplefiber grating sensors operating at high speed on a single fiber line. InU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,591,965, 5,627,927 the usage of fiber gratings todetect more than one dimension of strain is described. These ideas areextended in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,869,835, 5,828,059 and 5,841,131 to includefibers with different geometries that can be used to enhance sensitivityor simplify alignment procedures for enhanced sensitivity ofmulti-parameter fiber sensing. In U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/176,515, “High Speed Demodulation Systems for Fiber Grating Sensors”,by Eric Udd and Andreas Weisshaar means are described to process theoutput from multi-axis fiber grating sensors for improved sensitivity.All of these patents teaching are background for the present inventionwhich optimizes the fiber grating sensor for optimum response to strainchanges induced by changes in the state of its coating or surroundingmedia to form water/chemical sensors and monitor the status of adhesivejoints through measurements of strain interior to the bond.

The present invention consists of an optical fiber whose axial,transverse and or temperature sensitivity has been optimized through theconstruction of the optical fiber or mechanical mechanisms to enhancesensitivity. High speed demodulation is provided by wavelength divisionmultiplexing of these fiber grating sensors using series of fibergrating filters. The spectral filters are arranged so that each fibergrating sensor has a corresponding filter to match it, allowing higherspeeds and sensitivity than many current approaches. To sense transversestrain at high speeds in birefringent optical fiber, the two spectralpeaks associated with the fiber gratings are tracked individually bylocking onto its preferred polarization state.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to monitor changesin moisture or chemical content of an environment through measuredstrain changes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means of monitoring bondlines for degradation.

Another object of the invention is to provide means to measure changesin several fiber grating sensors at high speed and with high sensitivitysimultaneously in a single fiber.

Another object of the invention is to measure transverse strain as wellas axial strain at high speed and with high sensitivity.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art after considering thefollowing detailed specification including the drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a prior art illustration of a grating written onto sideholefiber.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the splitting of a spectral peak withtransverse loading on grating written onto ordinary single mode fiber.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the separation of spectral peaks withtransverse loading of a grating written onto PM fiber.

FIG. 4 is an illustration showing the basis of a fiber grating chemicalsensor with a chemically sensitive coating attached to plates which areconstricted and strain the grating as the coating swells in the presenceof the target chemical.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a chemical sensor employing m and n stacksof a chemical sensitive coating to change sensitivity of sensor

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a fiber embedded into composite tow bondedto stiff plates. As the chemically sensitive coating expands orcontracts, the strain state in the fiber grating sensor changes.

FIG. 7 is an illustration showing a fiber grating embedded intocomposite part. As the affinity coating changes, the strain on thesensor will change.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a fiber grating sensor with a singlev-groove plate to prevent fiber rotation.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a fiber grating sensor with a doublev-groove design to eliminate possible rocking of the top plate.

FIG. 10 is an illustration showing the use of channels to prevent thetop plate from rocking on fiber.

FIG. 11 is an illustration showing multiple sensing points for extendedsensing range or higher accuracy through averaging.

FIG. 12 is an illustration showing the use of beveled plate to increasesurface area of exposed coating and/or increase wicking action of targetchemical into coating.

FIG. 13a, FIG. 13b, and FIG. 13c, show different methods to increasetarget chemical absorption through the transducer plates.

FIG. 14 is an illustration showing how a flexible plate may be used toaccount for inconsistent swelling of the chemically sensitive coating.

FIG. 15 is an illustration showing the placement of the coating directlyon the fiber.

FIG. 16 is an illustration showing the placement layers of chemicallyreactive composite tow over the fiber which may load the fiber intransverse strain when exposed to the target chemical. For example, somecomposite tows may swell in the presence of moisture. The void may beused to ensure a clean transverse load.

FIG. 17 is an illustration showing the wing of an aircraft wheretransverse fiber grating strain sensors are used to monitor the adhesivejoints.

FIG. 18 is an illustration of a transverse fiber grating strain sensorembedded directly into the adhesive of a bond to monitor the health ofthe bond.

FIG. 19 is an illustration of three different embedding locations oftransverse strain sensors into an adhesive joint.

FIG. 20a is a diagram showing uniform loading with clean spectral peaksand FIG. 20b shows non-uniform loading with more complex spectralprofiles of gratings written onto polarization maintaining fiber.

FIG. 21a shows [data taken from] a transverse fiber grating strainsensor embedded into an adhesive joint that was placed under load. FIG.21b shows data taken from the transverse fiber grating strain sensor.

FIG. 22 is an illustration of a dual axis fiber grating sensor embeddedinto an adhesive joint with its transverse strain sensing axis alignedat −45 degrees.

FIG. 23 shows data taken from a transverse fiber grating strain sensorembedded into an adhesive joint undergoing plastic deformation.

FIG. 24 shows data of the displacement of the instrumented adhesivejoint from FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is an illustration of a non-round coating on fiber to preventrolling and maintain desired orientation.

FIG. 26 is an illustration of forming a non-round coating using heat.

FIG. 27 is a diagram of a prior art high-speed demodulation systememploying a grating filter to demodulate a grating sensor.

FIG. 28a and FIG. 28b are diagrams showing different full width half maxspectra for grating filters allows for selection of sensitivity anddynamic range.

FIG. 29a and FIG. 29b are diagrams showing how a change in the periodicspacing of the perturbations of the index of refraction, or gratingspacing, changes the spectral position of the grating.

FIG. 30a and FIG. 30b are diagrams showing the bending of a simplysupported beam to induce tension or compression in an attached orembedded grating.

FIG. 31a and FIG. 31b are diagrams showing a cantilever configurationfor inducing tension or compression in an attached or embedded grating.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing the stretching or compressing of a beamwith force (F) to induce tension or compression in grating.

FIG. 33 is an illustration of a tunable grating filter requiring onlyone direction of tuning as the initial filter wavelength is lower thanthat of the sensor allowing it to be tuned into the range of the sensor.

FIG. 34 is an illustration of a tunable grating filter employing agrating in a tube to control the amount of strain transferred to thegrating for a given displacement and allowing for tuning in bothdirections if the fiber is pre-tensioned in the tube and the grating isstretched or relaxed.

FIG. 35a and FIG. 35b are diagrams showing the application of tension orcompression to surface mounted or embedded fiber grating through apressure (P) differential across the diaphragm.

FIG. 36a and FIG. 36b are diagrams showing the deflection of a beamusing a threaded stud to induce strain (positive or negative) in agrating.

FIG. 37 is a photograph of the exterior of prototype with fiber opticconnections and knob on top to turn a threaded stud and deflect a beamused to put tension and compression on the fiber grating.

FIG. 38 is a photograph of the interior of prototype showing threadedstud, beam, and beam supports.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing a beam with multiple color grating filtersto filter different color grating sensors.

FIG. 40 is a diagram showing an adjustable comb filter.

FIG. 41 is a diagram showing a series of beams with attached gratingfilters at different wavelengths to form an adjustable comb filter.

FIG. 42 is a diagram showing a configuration where adjusting each filterindependently with a knob-beam configuration is possible.

FIG. 43 is a diagram of a tunable grating filter based on thermaltuning.

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing multiplexing of the high speed demodulationsystem by introducing a time delay.

FIG. 45 is a diagram showing splitting the dual peak structure of a dualaxis grating to two individual peaks.

FIG. 46 is a diagram showing the use of polarization controllers toseparate out the two polarization states associated with a dualaxis(transverse) grating sensor.

FIG. 47 is a diagram of an alternative design where the polarizationcontrollers and polarizing fiber are placed before the last beamsplitters to reduce errors associated with inconsistent polarizationstates in the filtered and reference legs.

FIG. 48 is a diagram showing the use of polarization maintaining (PM)fiber and beam splitters in conjunction with polarizers to controlpolarization states.

FIG. 49 is a diagram showing multiplexing of the transverse gratings bycombining two light sources and splitting each wavelength to separatedemodulators.

FIG. 50 is a diagram showing a “Cascading” configuration where beamsplitters are used to divide the reflected light from the sensors amongthe separate demodulators.

FIG. 51 is a diagram showing the alternate location of detectors.

FIG. 52 is a diagram showing another alternate location of detectors toeliminate background light levels compared to FIG. 50.

FIG. 53 is a diagram showing another method to demodulate several inline fiber grating sensors. This system also provides the capability ofan absolute measurement by providing a reference detector.

FIG. 54 is a diagram showing an alternate configuration with referencedetectors on each leg.

FIG. 55 is a diagram showing how gratings written into beam splatterscan be employed to efficiently multiplex a high speed fiber gratingdemodulation system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention, environmental sensing systems based on fibergratings are described. The environmental grating sensors may be writtenonto ordinary single mode or birefringent fiber. For the case where theenvironmental sensor is subjected to a transverse load, it will behavedifferently depending on if it is written onto ordinary single modefiber or onto birefringent fiber. To further increase the sensor'sresponse to a transverse load, voids such as sideholes may be introducedinto the fiber. FIG. 1 shows a prior art transverse fiber grating sensorwritten onto optical sidehole fiber as described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,828,059 and 5,841,131. The sidehole transverse fiber grating sensor 1consists of a length of sidehole fiber 3 that may have sideholes 5. Whena grating 7 is written onto the core 9 of the sidehole fiber 3, a singledistinct spectral peak results. The sideholes 5 in the fiber mayincrease the sensor's 1 response to transverse strain.

Gratings written onto some sidehole fiber or ordinary single mode fiberwill reflect a single spectral peak in the unloaded case. As the gratingon some sidhole or single mode fiber is transversely loaded, thespectral peak will begin to broaden and eventually split asbirefringence is induced in the fiber from the external load. FIG. 2shows a typical spectral response to transverse loading for the case ofa single grating written onto non birefringent optical fiber, such assome sidehole fiber. In the unloaded case 51, a single spectral peakresults. As the transverse load on the fiber sensor increases, thespectral peak 53 begins to broaden. With further increasing load, thespectral peak begins to split into two distinct spectral peaks 55.

For the case where a grating is written onto birefringent fiber, twospectral peaks are reflected in the unloaded case, one for eachpolarization state. As the grating written onto birefringent fiber istransversely loaded, the spacing between the two spectral peaks willchange.

FIG. 3 shows a typical spectral response to transverse loading for thecase of a single grating written onto birefringent optical fiber. In theunloaded case, two spectral peaks 101 result with a peak separation 103.As the transverse load increases, the separation of the two peaks 105will increase. With further increasing transverse loading, the spectralpeak separation 107 will further increase.

FIG. 4 shows a chemical sensor based on transverse loading of a strainsensor based on a single grating or multiple gratings written ontobirefringent or non-birefringent fiber. The chemical sensor 151 consistsof a chemical sensitive coating 153 that expands in the presence of thetarget chemical to be sensed, such as moisture. As the chemicalsensitive coating 153 expands, it exerts a force onto some stiff plates155. The outward expansion is prevented by clamps 157 and 159. Thisdirects the force into the grating sensor 161. The effective result is atransverse strain impending on the grating sensor 161 in the presence ofthe target chemical. The stiff plates 155 provide a more even loading onthe fiber as the chemical sensitive coating 153 expands. The relativelylarge exposed area of the chemical sensitive coating 153 increases thesensitivity and response time of this chemical sensor.

FIG. 5 shows another variation of a chemical sensor where a series ofchemical sensitive coatings are cascaded together to increase the amountof force directed into the fiber grating sensor to increase sensitivity.This variation of the chemical sensor 201 consists of multiple stacks ofchemically sensitive coating 203 with stiff plates 205. As thesemultiple sets of chemical sensitive coatings 203 expand in the presenceof the target chemical, their combined force is directed into the fibergrating sensor 207. By controlling the quantity n and m of the stacks,the sensitivity of the chemical sensor 201 can be controlled.

FIG. 6 shows another variation of a chemical sensor where the gratingsensor is embedded into a piece of composite tow where the force on thefiber is transverse. The chemical sensor 251 consists of a fiber gratingsensor 253 that is formed from one or two gratings written ontobirefringent or non-birefringent optical fiber. The fiber grating sensor253 is embedded into a piece of composite tow 255 which can have manyfunctions such as isolating the fiber grating sensor 253 from chemicalsthat would be damaging to the optical fiber and keeping the orientationof the fiber grating sensor 253 correct for the case where birefringentfiber is used. The composite tow piece 255 is surrounded by stiff plates257 and chemical sensitive coating 259 (or affinity coating.) As thechemical sensitive coating expands or shrinks in the presence of thetarget chemical or chemicals, the force exerted on the tow 255 changesand hence the strain on the fiber grating sensor 253 allowing ameasurement to be made.

FIG. 7 shows another variation of a chemical sensor 301 where the fibergrating sensor 303 is embedded into a composite part 305 with someoptimal geometry for the chemical sensitive coating 307 (or affinitycoating) to maximize the strain on the fiber grating sensor 303 in thepresence of the target chemical or chemicals.

FIG. 8 shows another variation of a chemical sensor based on a v-grooveconfiguration. This chemical sensor 350 consists of a fiber gratingsensor 353 that is formed from a single or multiple gratings onbirefringent or non-birefringent fiber placed into a v-groove 355. Thisplate keeps the fiber in place and can help maintain the properorientation 357 of the fiber if a grating in birefringent fiber is used.As the chemical sensitive coating 359 expands in the presence of thetarget chemical or chemicals, it exerts a force on the top plate 361which transfers the force to the fiber grating sensor 353.

FIG. 9 shows another variation of a chemical sensor based on a doublev-groove configuration. The chemical sensor 401 consists of a doublev-groove plate 403 that holds both the fiber grating sensor 405 and adummy fiber 407 of the same diameter as the fiber grating sensor butwithout a grating element. This configuration helps to reduce therocking effect of the top plate 409 on top of the fiber grating sensor405 to provide a more consistent loading as the chemical sensitivecoating 411 expands in the presence of the target chemical or chemicals.The v-grooves in plate 403 help keep the fibers in place and keep thefiber grating sensor 405 oriented if a birefringent fiber is used.

FIG. 10 shows another variation of a chemical sensor based on a v-grooveconfiguration. The chemical sensor 451 consists of a v-groove plate 453and side channels 455. The side channels can help keep the top platelevel for more consistent loading on the fiber grating sensor 459 as thechemical sensitive coating 461 expands in the presence of the targetchemical or chemicals. The v-groove plate 453 helps keep the fiber inplace and keeps the fiber grating sensor 459 oriented if a birefringentfiber is used.

FIG. 11 shows another variation of a chemical sensor based on a multiplev-groove configuration to support multiple sensing points. The chemicalsensor 501 consists of multiple v-groove plates 503 and side channels505 that allow for multiple fiber grating sensors 507 to be loaded asthe chemical sensitive coating 509 expands against the plates 511. Thisconfiguration can extend the sensing range and provide better accuracyby comparing the multiple grating sensors 507 to each other.

FIG. 12 shows how a beveled plate 551 may be used to increase thesurface area of the chemical sensitive coating 553 and increase thewicking action of the target chemical or chemicals into the coating.This could increase sensitivity and decrease response times of thechemical sensor.

FIG. 13a, FIG. 13b, and FIG. 13c show plates of differing permeability601 and holes 603 or slots 605 can be used to increase the volume andrate of absorption of the target chemical into the chemical sensitivecoating.

FIG. 14 shows another variation of a chemical sensor 651 based on aflexible plate 653 to transfer the load from the chemical sensitivecoating 655 to the fiber grating sensor 657 which can consist of one ormore gratings written onto birefringent or non-birefringent fiber. Themultiple v-groove plate 659 can hold multiple dummy fibers 661 toprovide different loading schemes for the flexible plate 653. Theflexible plate 653 allows for inconsistent swelling of the chemicalsensitive coating 655.

FIG. 15 shows another variation of a chemical sensor where the chemicalsensitive coating is placed directly on the fiber. The chemical sensor701 consists of a fiber grating sensor 703 that can consist of a singleor multiple gratings on birefringent or non-birefringent fiber. Achemical sensitive coating 705 exerts a transverse force on the fibergrating sensor 703 as it swells in the presence of a target chemical orchemicals.

FIG. 16 shows another variation of a chemical sensor where composite towthat is reactive to a target chemical is used to transversely load thefiber grating sensor. The chemical sensor 751 consists of chemicallyreactive composite tow 753 which expands or shrinks in the presence ofthe target chemical or chemicals to transfer a load to the fiber gratingsensor 755. The fiber grating sensor 755 can consist of one or moregratings on birefringent or non-birefringent fiber. A void 757 can beused to provide clean transverse loads on the fiber grating sensor 755.

The above descriptions describe a transverse strain applied to thegrating sensor on the presence of a target chemical such as moisture.Another application to the transverse strain sensing capability of thefiber grating written onto either ordinary single mode fiber orbirefringent fiber is the direct measurement of transverse strain andstrain gradients when embedded into a structure such as an adhesivejoint.

One key problem facing structural designers is the ability to be able tomonitor the structural integrity of adhesive joints. While these jointsare used in many types of construction there is very strong motivationto use these in aerospace applications to improve strength andreliability while lowering construction costs and overall weight. FIG.17 is a diagram of a wing structure 2001 that may be made of lightweightcomposite material. The wing 2001 is made up of sections that may beadhesively bonded and strings of fiber grating sensors 2003, 2005 and2007 can monitor these bonds.

FIG. 18 shows an adhesive bond 2051 that joins two parts 2053 and 2055.When the parts 2053 and 2055 are pulled apart by the forces 2057 and2059 a shear load is formed along the line 2061. A multi-axis fibergrating sensor 2063 can be placed along the length of the adhesive bond2051 with its traverse axes 2065 and 2067 aligned along the shear line2061 and orthogonal to it so that shear strain induced in the bond maybe measured. While the diagram of FIG. 18 shows the fiber grating sensor2063 place interior to the adhesive joint 2051 other positions arepossible.

FIG. 19 shows the placement of three fiber grating sensing fibers 2101,2103 and 2105 in the adhesive bond 2107, between the bonded materials2109 and 2111. Note that the fiber grating sensor 2101 is placed wellinto the adhesive bond 2107 while the fiber grating sensor 2103 isplaced near the edge and the fiber grating sensor 2105 is placed in theexterior. When an adhesive bond starts to fail under shear load itusually starts on the edge. So the placement of the fiber grating 2105just exterior to the adhesive bond 2107 is in the area where failure islikely to first occur. This arrangement is also useful for enabling asystem that could be used as a failure warning mechanism for existingadhesive bonds as an exterior bead of adhesive could be added andoriented fibers placed at the edge of a bond to provide a healthmonitoring system as a retrofit to existing structures or to simplifyfabrication of new structures.

FIG. 20a and FIG. 20b are diagrams that are used to illustrate theaction of a multi-axis fiber grating sensors that is placed inside of amaterial that is subject to strains and eventual failure. In particularthis would be the case of an adhesive bond that is strained until itfails. In FIG. 20a a multi-axis fiber grating sensor 2151 withtransverse sensing axes 2153 and 2155 is subject to a uniform loadingforce 2157 along the axis 2153. When this type of uniform transverseloading occurs two spectral output peaks 2159 and 2161 occur that aresmooth curves whose central wavelengths shift so that the two peaks 2159and 2161 move apart or together with wavelength difference. FIG. 20billustrates the case of the fiber optic grating sensor 2151 when thetransverse loading force 2171 is not uniform. This would be the case forexample when an adhesive bond under load starts to break apart along theline of the axis 2153. In this case the spectral peak 2161 in FIG. 20bwill split into two wavelength peaks 2173 and 2175. The spectralseparation between the peaks 2173 and 2175 provides a quantitative meansto measure the difference in load along the axis 2153 generated by theforce 2171 that consists of the load regions 2177 and 2179. Theintensity of the peaks 2173 and 2175 provide a means to determine thelengths of the load regions 2177 and 2179. In the case of FIG. 20b theregions are nearly equal in length resulting in the two peaks beingnearly equal in intensity.

FIG. 21b is a diagram showing experimental results that were obtained byusing a multi-axis fiber grating to monitor an adhesive bond. Additionalexperimental data on joints that were tested using this technology canbe found in W. L. Schulz, E. Udd, M. Morrell, J. Seim, I. Perez, A.Trego, “Health Monitoring of an Adhesive Joint using a Multiaxis FiberGrating Strain Sensor System”, SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 3586, p. 41, 1999.In FIG. 21a the multi-axis fiber grating sensor 2201 is oriented at 45degrees relative to the adhesive bond 2203, and the plates 2205, 2207,2209, and 2211. The fiber grating sensor 2201 is placed at the edge ofthe adhesive bond 2203 so that it can be used to predict the onset offailure during loading. The graph shown in FIG. 21b illustrates thespectral reflective output of the multi-axis fiber grating sensor 2201of FIG. 21a as a function of load being applied by an Instron machine tothe plates 2205 and 2207 that are being pulled apart. Note that after acertain load level is applied of approximately 1800 pounds the two majorspectral peaks start to move apart with continuing increases in load. Atabout 2400 pounds the major spectral peak 2251 splits into the two peaks2253 and 2255. The spectral separation 2257 between these two peaks 2253and 2255 is approximately 0.2 nm. Since the response of the multi-axisfiber grating sensor in the transverse direction is approximately afactor of 3 lower than in the axial direction a change of 0.2 nmcorresponds to a change of about 600 micro-strain. The intensity of thetwo split peaks 2253 and 2255 being nearly equal means that along theaxis of shear strain (along which one of the transverse axes of themulti-axis fiber 2201 is aligned as shown in FIG. 21a) about half thefiber grating length has been unloaded by about 600 micro-strain whilethe other half of the grating remains at the higher load level. Sincethe fiber grating used in this case is about 5 mm in length this meansthat approximately 2 mm of the fiber grating sensor 2201 along the shearstrain axis has been unloaded due to a change in the adhesive bond 2203.As the adhesive bond 2203 is subject to increasing load additional peaksarise with greater intensity indicating additional breakage and theoverall spectral profile 2257 moves toward longer wavelengths indicatingaxial loading is occurring. Thus FIG. 21a and FIG. 21b illustrate theability of a multi-axis fiber grating sensor 2201 to measure transversestrain which because of its orientation at 45 degrees measures shearstrain in the adhesive bond 2203. This figure also illustrates theability to measure changing transverse strain gradients indicative ofbreak up of the adhesive bond 2203 and axial strain changes that occurin this example before failure of the bond 2203.

In addition to monitoring break up of adhesive bonds and failure it ispossible to use multi-axis fiber grating sensors to monitor plasticdeformation of an adhesive bond under cycling. FIG. 22 shows theposition of the multi-axis fiber grating sensor 2301 that is oriented at−45 degrees relative to the adhesive bond 2303 and the plates 2305,2307, 2309 and 2311. As the plates 2311 an 2309 and pulled apart withincreasing force and then unloaded the multi-axis fiber grating sensor2301 can be used to monitor the adhesive bond 2303 in the neighborhoodof its placement. FIG. 23 is a graph showing the displacement of themajor spectral peaks during a cycle of the adhesive bond 2303. Thespectral profile 2351 shows the original spectrum after the multi-axisfiber grating sensor 2301 after placement in the adhesive bond 2303 butbefore loading. In this particular case after the adhesive bond 2303 wascycled it did not fail but the unloaded spectra after the cycle 2353reflects a change in the strain fields interior to the adhesive joint2303. FIG. 24 illustrates the displacement of the plates 2309 and 2311by an Instron loading machine during testing. Note that the adhesivejoint 2303 has been plastically deformed during this cycle as wasexpected as the cycle was beyond the load expected to fail the part. Thespectral profiles of FIG. 23 illustrate this process.

In the above sensor configurations, one possible configuration is to useone or more fiber gratings written onto birefringent fiber. Thepolarization axes associated with the birefringent fiber require thatthe fiber grating sensor be placed in a known orientation in order tomaximize the sensitivity of the sensor's response to a transverse load.FIGS. 25 and 26 describe one possible method of controlling theorientation of a fiber grating sensor written onto birefringent fiber.

FIG. 25 shows a method to control the orientation of a fiber gratingsensor based on birefringent fiber. In this case, a non-symmetriccoating 801 is placed over the fiber grating sensor 803. The orientationof the polarization axes of the fiber grating sensor 805 can becontrolled by placing the flats 807 of the coating in the desiredorientation.

FIG. 26 shows how the non-symmetric coating of FIG. 25 can bemanufactured. The process begins with a fiber of known orientation 851with a round fiber coating 853 that will melt with enough heat placedbetween two plates 855. As the plates are heated 857, the coating 859will begin to melt and flow and form flats 861 where the coating touchesthe plates 855.

In many areas where environmental sensing is required, there is a desirefor high sensitivity and multiple sensing points. For this reason, ademodulation system with high sensitivity and a large multiplexingpotential is needed. In the figures below, several systems are describedthat enhance the capability of a fiber grating demodulation system usingspectral filters described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,995 and 5,397,891.

FIG. 27 shows a prior art fiber grating demodulation system usingspectral filters described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,995 and 5,397,891.The fiber grating demodulation system consists of a broadband lightsource 3001 that directs broadband light through a beam splitter 3003and to a fiber grating sensor 3005. The fiber grating sensor 3005reflects a spectral peak based on the strain on the grating that travelsback through beam splitter 3003 and is then directed to a second beamsplitter 3007 where it is split between lines 3009 and 3011. Thespectral peak traveling along line 3009 travels through a fiber gratingfilter 3013 that converts the spectral information into an amplitudebased signal. The spectral peak then travels from the grating filter3013 to the detector 3015. The spectral peak in line 3011 travelsdirectly to the high-speed detector 3017 to provide a referencemeasurement. The detector then outputs two voltages 3019 and 3021 thatcan be acquired by a data acquisition system 3023.

FIG. 28a and FIG. 28b show typical spectral profiles from a gratingwritten onto non-birefringent fiber. This is one possibility for thefiber grating filter described in FIG. 25. In order to adjust thesensitivity of the fiber grating filter, gratings of different widthsmay be used to control the slope of the spectral profile. If a narrowergrating is used as a filter, its spectral profile 3051, shown in FIG.28a, will give more sensitivity due to its steeper slope, but will giveless dynamic range for the sensor to sweep across. If a wider grating isused as a filter, its spectral profile 3053 will give a shallower slope,for decreased sensitivity, but a wider dynamic range, shown in FIG. 28b.

FIG. 29a and FIG. 29b each show a typical response of a fiber gratingsensor to an axial load. The grating under no load 3101, shown in FIG.29a, will have a grating spacing 3103 resulting in a spectral peak at alower center wavelength 3105. As the fiber grating sensor is axiallystrained 3107, the grating spacing 3109 results in a spectral peak at ahigher center wavelength 3111, shown in FIG. 29b. This shows how thegrating sensor will sweep across the grating filter in the systemdescribed in FIG. 27.

When fiber grating sensors are installed onto or embedded intostructures, many times the initial strain state is different than it wasfor the uninstalled sensor due to such mechanisms as residual stress.This initial tensile or compressive force results in the fiber gratingsensor's initial spectral peak center to be at a different wavelengththan the unstrained sensor. Referring back to the demodulation system ofFIG. 27, if the spectral filter does not match up spectrally with thefiber grating sensor, then there will be no measurable change inamplitude as the sensor is modulated. For this reason, a tunable gratingfilter may be needed to ensure that the spectral filter matches up withthe initial state of the installed sensor. The following figuresdescribe methods for straining a fiber grating and thus providing atunable grating filter.

FIG. 30a and FIG. 30b show a tunable filter concept where a fibergrating sensor is attached to or embedded into a simply supported 3131flexing beam 3133 above the neutral axis of the beam. As the beam isbent up 3135, FIG. 30a, or down 3137, FIG. 30b, the grating on the beamwill be subjected to tension or compression allowing for a filter thatcan be tuned to both higher and lower wavelengths. The beam can also besupported other ways, such as fixed, etc.

FIG. 31a and FIG. 31b show a tunable filter concept utilizing a bendingbeam with a grating attached onto or embedded into the beam above theneutral axis of the beam. As the beam is bent up 3151, FIG. 31a, or down3153, FIG. 31b, the grating on the beam will be subjected to tension orcompression.

FIG. 32 shows a tunable filter concept utilizing a beam 3171 with agrating 3173 attached onto or embedded into the beam. As the beam isstretched or compressed with a force 3175, the fiber grating will besubjected to tension or compression and thus can be tuned to higher orlower wavelengths.

FIG. 33 shows a tunable filter concept where a fiber grating 3181 isfixed at a point along its length 3183. A force 3185 pulls on thegrating to induce tension and thus a spectral shift to a higherwavelength. The fiber grating 3181 is written at a lower wavelength thanis expected for the installed fiber grating sensor. An example of thiswould be to use a fiber grating filter in this configuration at 1297nanometers for demodulating a fiber grating sensor with nominalwavelength at 1300 nanometers. This would allow for the tunable filterto match up with the fiber grating sensor by only having to tune it inone direction.

FIG. 34 shows an extension to FIG. 33 where the fiber grating 3201 isplaced into a tube 3203 and fixed at either end of the tube 3205, 3207.The tube is also fixed 3209. The length of the tube 3211 can be variedto control the length of the sensor that is being stretched by force F3213 and thus control the amount of strain on the fiber for a givendisplacement controlled by a precision screw such as a micrometer or apicomotor such as the one available from New Focus. This configurationcould be a tension only type of tunable filter similar to FIG. 33, orthe fiber could be pre-strained in the tube to allow for a wavelengthshift in both directions if the fiber was allowed to relax.

FIG. 35a and FIG. 35b show a tunable filter concept utilizing adiaphragm 3221 with a fiber grating attached onto or embedded into thediaphragm off of its neutral axis. With a pressure differential on thediaphragm 3223, 3225 the diaphragm will deflect up or down and puttension or compression on the fiber grating.

FIG. 36a and FIG. 36b show an extension to the tunable filter conceptshown in FIG. 30. In this case, a threaded stud 3241 is threaded througha tap 3243 in the beam 3245. As the stud 3241 is turned the beam 3245 isflexed up or down based on the direction of the turn.

FIG. 37 shows a picture of a prototype based on the concepts describedin FIGS. 30 and 36. Here the tunable grating filter is enclosed in a boxwith an external knob to turn the threaded stud inside. The opticalports 3247 allow access to both sides of the grating to allow the filterto operate in transmission.

FIG. 38 shows a picture of the inside of the filter box of FIG. 37. Herethe beam 3261 with the attached grating can be seen with the studthreaded 3263 through it.

FIG. 39 shows an extension of the tunable filter concept where multiplegratings 3281,3283 of different wavelengths 3285,3287 are attached to orembedded into a beam with tuning provided by bending or a push/pullforce. This allows for the potential of a single tunable filter handlingmultiple fiber grating sensors at different wavelengths.

FIG. 40 shows the spectral profile 3301 of a series of tunable gratings.If each spectral peak were tunable independently, then a comb filtercould be formed.

FIG. 41 shows a concept for the fiber grating comb filter shown in FIG.40. A series of multiple beams 3303 or other tuning mechanisms each witha fiber grating 3305 of different wavelength attached or embedded couldbe connected together to form the comb filter.

FIG. 42 shows how the fiber grating comb filter could be packaged andtuned. A series of knobs 3321 connected to the beams with gratings atdifferent wavelengths 3323 could be used to tune each individual gratingto a higher or lower wavelength to form the desired comb profile.Optical ports 3325 would provide access to both ends of the series ofgratings.

FIG. 43 shows another concept for a tunable grating filter. As a fibergrating responds similarly to heat as it does to strain due to thermalexpansion/contraction, a tunable filter based on heating/cooling thefiber grating is feasible. A heat input 3341 would shift the gratingfilter 3343 to a higher wavelength. A heat output 3345 or cooling wouldshift the grating filter to a lower wavelength.

In addition to a tunable grating filter to support higher sensitivityand multiplexing of the grating based sensor such as a chemical sensor,additional schemes are described below that further enhance themultiplexing potential of a fiber grating sensor system.

FIG. 44 shows a modification of the demodulation system described inFIG. 27 where multiplexing is enabled through the use of time divisionmultiplexing. The demodulation system 3361 consists of a pulsedbroadband light source 3363 that directs a spectral pulse 3365 into abeam splitter 3367 and is split into two pulses 3369 and 3371. The pulse3369 will arrive at the grating sensor 3373 first and a spectral peak3375 will be reflected back. The spectral pulse 3371 will reach thegrating sensor 3377 later due to a time delay 3379 that could consist ofa coil of fiber. The grating sensor 3377 will then reflect a spectralpeak 3381. The spectral peak 3375 will reach the beam splitter 3367first and be split into two spectral peaks 3383 and 3385. Spectral peak3383 will be directed back toward the light source 3363 and will have noeffect. Spectral peak 3385 will be directed toward a second beamsplitter 3387 that will split it into two spectral peaks 3389 and 3391.The spectral peak 3381 will reach the beam splitter 3367 after peak 3375and will be split into two peaks that will follow the same paths asspectral peaks 3383 and 3385, only they will be delayed by the amountdetermined in the time delay 3379. This configuration allows formultiple gratings sensors at the same wavelength to be demodulated byone demodulation system with a single spectral filter 3393.

In some of the demodulation cases described above, only a singlespectral peak being reflected from the grating sensor can bedemodulated. The following figures describe methods for utilizing thissame demodulation system for the case of gratings written ontobirefringent fiber where there are multiple peaks per sensor, refer toU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,591,965 and 5,828,059.

FIG. 45 shows a typical spectral profile 3401 for a grating written ontobirefringent fiber. The profile consists of two peaks 3403 and 3405associated with the polarization states of the birefringent fiber ontowhich the grating is written. In order to utilize the above describedhigh speed demodulation system, these polarization peaks 3403 and 3405can be separated 3407 into two separate peaks 3409 and 3411 that arecompatible with the high speed demodulation system.

FIG. 46 shows a demodulation system utilizing the concept of FIG. 45 todemodulate a grating written onto birefringent fiber with thedemodulation system employing a spectral filter described previously.The broad band light source 3421 directs a broad band spectral profile3423 into a beam splitter 3425 which splits the broad band profile 3423into two broadband profiles 3427 and 3429. The profile 3429 can bedumped (ensuring no back reflections) or directed toward another gratingsensor. The profile 3427 is directed toward a fiber grating sensor 3431written onto birefringent fiber where two spectral peaks 3433 and 3435associated with the polarization axes of the birefringent fiber will bereflected. These peaks are then directed toward the beam splitter 3425and directed toward a second beam splitter 3437 and split into legs 3439and 3441. The two peaks traveling along leg 3439 are directed into beamsplitter 3443 and split into legs 3445 and 3447. The two peaks in leg3445 are directed into a polarization controller 3449. A length ofpolarizing fiber 3453 is used to ensure that one of the polarizationstates is blocked. The peak single 3455 is then directed into a spectralfilter 3457 and converted into an amplitude based measurement measurableby a detector 3459 as described in FIG. 27. The leg 3447 provides thereference leg described in FIG. 27. The leg 3441 directs the two peaksassociated with the two polarization states into a beam splitter 3461that splits into two legs 3463 and 3465. Leg 3463 directs the two peaksinto a polarization controller 3467. A length of polarizing fiber 3471is used to ensure that one of the peaks is blocked. The peak 3473 isthen directed into a spectral filter 3475 and converted into anamplitude based measurement measurable by a detector 3477 as describedin FIG. 27. The leg 3465 provides the reference leg described in FIG.27. To ensure that the polarization controllers and polarizing fibersare blocking the correct polarization peaks, a simple calibration couldbe performed by loading the fiber grating in transverse and notingwhether or not the signals on the respective detectors change asexpected.

FIG. 47 shows another method to separate the polarization states of thegrating written onto birefringent fiber. This method places thepolarization controllers before the beam splitter that splits thespectral data between the filtered and reference leg reducing errorsassociated with inconsistent polarization states in the filtered andreferenced legs. A broadband light source 3481 outputs a broadbandprofile 3483 to a beam splitter 3485 that splits the profile 3483 intotwo legs 3487 and 3489. The leg 3489 is dumped or can be connected toanother grating sensor. The leg 3487 guides the broadband light to afiber grating sensor 3491 that consists of a grating written ontobirefringent fiber that reflects two spectral peaks 3493 and 3495 eachassociated with a polarization state of the birefringent fiber. Thesepeaks 3493 and 3495 are then directed to the beam splitter 3485 anddirected 3497 into a beam splitter 3499 that splits into legs 3501 and3503. The two peaks in leg 3501 are directed into a polarizationcontroller. Polarizing fiber 3509 ensures that one of the polarizationstates is dropped. The peak 3511 is then directed in to a beam splitter3513 that splits into two legs 3515 and 3517. Leg 3515 directs thesingle peak associated with one of the polarization states of the fibergrating sensor written onto birefringent fiber into a spectral filter3519 that converts the spectral information into an amplitude basedsignal measurable by a detector 3521. The leg 3517 provides thereference leg. The two peaks in leg 3503 are directed into apolarization controller 3523. A length of polarizing fiber 3527 ensuresthat one of the polarizing states is dropped. The peak 3529 is thendirected into a beam splitter 3531 that splits into two legs 3533 and3535. Leg 3533 directs the single peak associated with one of thepolarization states of the fiber grating sensor written ontobirefringent fiber into a spectral filter 3537 that converts thespectral information into an amplitude based signal measurable by adetector 3539. The leg 3535 provides the reference leg.

FIG. 48 shows an alternative system where polarization maintaining fiberis used throughout most of the system along with polarizationmaintaining beam splitters so that the two polarization states are eachdirected to the appropriate demodulator filter set. A broad band lightsource 3561 directs broad band light 3563 into a polarizationmaintaining beam splitter 3565 that splits the broadband light 3563 intotwo parts 3567 and 3569. Broadband light 3569 is dumped or can beconnected to another fiber grating sensor. Broadband light 3567 isdirected along the fiber that is placed into a tube 3571 that providesstrain relief for the fiber going into a part 3572 to a fiber gratingsensor 3573 written onto birefringent fiber that reflects two peaks 3575and 3577 associated with each polarization state of the birefringentfiber. The peaks 3575 and 3577 are directed to beam splitter 3565 andthen directed to polarization maintaining beam splitter 3581 that splitsinto two legs 3583 and 3585. The leg 3583 directs both peaks associatedwith the polarization axes of the fiber grating written ontobirefringent fiber to a length of polarizing fiber 3587 that is orientedto block one of the polarization states. The fiber and beam splittersafter this length of polarizing fiber 3587 does not need to bepolarization maintaining. The resulting single peak from 3587 thentravels to a beam splitter 3589 and is split into legs 3591 and 3593.Leg 3591 directs the single peak to a fiber grating filter 3595 thatconverts the spectral information into an amplitude based signalmeasurable by a detector 3597. The 3593 leg forms the reference leg. Theleg 3585 directs both peaks associated with the polarization axes of thefiber rating written onto birefringent fiber to a length of polarizingfiber 3599 that is oriented to block one of the polarization statesdifferent from that of 3587. The fiber and beam splitters after thislength of polarizing fiber 3599 does not need to be polarizationmaintaining. The resulting single peak from 3599 then travels to a beamsplitter 3601 and is split into legs 3603 and 3605. Leg 3603 directs thesingle peak to a fiber grating filter 3607 that converts the spectralinformation into an amplitude based signal measurable by a detector3609. The 3605 leg forms the reference leg.

FIG. 49 shows a method to add multiplexing capability to the systemshown in FIG. 48 by employing two broadband light sources and twogratings written at different wavelengths. In this case, two broadbandlight sources 3621 and 3623 of different central wavelengths arecombined using a wavelength division multiplexer 3625. The resulting twobroadband profiles are directed into leg 3627 and to a beam splitter3629 that splits into two legs 3631 and 3630. Leg 3630 is dumped orcould be connected to a fiber grating sensor. Leg 3631 directs the twobroadband profiles to a grating sensor 3635 written onto birefringentfiber and reflecting two peaks 3637 and 3639 each associated with thepolarization axes of the birefringent fiber. The throughput of thegrating sensor 3635 is directed to another grating sensor 3641 writtenonto birefringent fiber at a different wavelength than grating sensor3635 and reflecting two peaks 3643 and 3645 each associated with thepolarization axes of the birefringent fiber. The resulting four peaks3637, 3639, 3643, and 3645 are then directed to a beam splitter 3629 anddirected to a wavelength division multiplexer (providing lower loss)or abeamsplitter 3647 that divides the four peaks into two pairs associatedwith the center wavelengths of the broadband light sources 3621 and3623. One pair of peaks travels along leg 3649 into a demodulationsystem 3653 similar to that described in FIG. 48. The other pair ofpeaks travels along leg 3651 into a demodulation system 3655 similar tothat described in FIG. 48. The approach of FIG. 49 could be extended tolarge numbers of sensors by using the wavelength division multiplexingelement 3647 to divide the spectrum into discrete packets for each fibergrating sensor, demodulation subsystem combination.

In order to multiplex a large number of fiber grating sensors usingwavelength division multiplexing while retaining high speedcharacteristics and sensitivity it would be highly desirable to have thelowest possible loss system available.

FIG. 50 shows a system that may be used to multiplex fiber opticgratings at high speed using low cost 2 by 2 fiber couplers. There aredifferent means to operate the system shown in FIG. 50. As an examplethe light source 3801 could be a broadband light source such as a lightemitting, superradiant laser diode or doped fiber light source (erbiumdoped light sources being currently most common), which could be used toilluminate a series of fiber grating sensors spaced in wavelengthsimultaneously. The light source 3801 could also be a tunable lightsource such as a tunable laser diode that could be used to spectrallyscan the string of fiber grating sensors. Returning to FIG. 50, thelight source 3801 emits a beam of light that is coupled into one end ofthe fiber coupler 3805 (bulk optic components or integrated opticbeamsplitters could be used, currently the losses associated with thesedevices are higher and they are not as cost effective). The light beam3803 is then split by the beamsplitter 3805 into a light beam 3807 thatexits the system in FIG. 50 but it could also be used to illuminateanother set of fiber grating sensors on a second fiber line. The secondsplit portion of the light beam 3803 is the light beam 3809 that isdirected toward the fiber grating sensor 3811 centered about thewavelength λ₁. A portion 3819 of the light beam 3809 is reflected by thefiber grating sensor 3811. The spectral change of the light beam 3819 isindicative of the environmental state of the fiber grating. The lightbeam 3819 then traverses the fiber beamsplitter 3805 a second time and aportion of it is directed to the beamsplitter 3823 where it is splitagain by the beamsplitters 3825 and 3827 eventually resulting in thelight beam 3821 hitting the beamsplitter 3829. The light beam 3809 thenproceeds past 3811 to the fiber grating sensor 3813 that is centeredabout the wavelength λ₂. A portion 3831 of the light beam 3809 isreflected off the fiber grating sensor 3813 and is split by thebeamsplitters 3805, 3823, 3825 and 3827 to form the light beam 3835 thatis directed toward the beamsplitter 3829. In a similar manner portionsof the light beam 3809 are reflected from the fiber grating sensors 3815centered about λ₃ and 3817 centered about λ₈. The net result is that atthe beamsplitter 3829 there is a light beam consisting of reflectionsoff the series of fiber grating sensors 3811, 3813, 3815 and 3817divided by the action of the beamsplitters 3805, 3823, 3825 and 3827. Asimilar light beam 3837 falls onto the beamsplitter 3839. Analogouscombination light beams 3841 and 3843 fall onto the beamsplitters 3845and 3847 respectively.

When the light beam 3849 corresponding to reflections off all the fibergrating sensors 3811, 3813, 3815 . . . 3817 falls onto the beamsplitter3829 it splits into the light beams 3851 and 3853. The light beam 3851falls onto the output detector 3855 whose output signal acts asreference. The light beam 3853 passes through the fiber grating filter3857 that acts to modulate the spectral signal reflected from the fibergrating sensor 3811. The light beam 3859 passing through the fibergrating filter 3857 then falls onto the output signal detector 3861.Note that the output signal from detector 3861 contains a constantcomponent associated with the reflections off all the other fibergrating sensors in the system in addition to that of 3811. The result isan offset for the output signal that becomes increasingly large withadditional fiber grating sensors. Similar considerations apply to thebeamsplitter, fiber grating filter detector sets 3863, 3865, 3867, 3869,3871, 3873 and 3875.

Another approach to the fiber grating sensor system shown in FIG. 50 isto have the light source 3801 be a tunable laser. In this case eachfiber grating sensor 3811, 3813, 3815, . . . 3817 is illuminated insequence. The only variation in intensity as the light source is sweptcorresponds to the filter/detector pair corresponding to the illuminatedgrating. As an example when fiber grating sensor 3811 is swept thereflected light beam from 3811 is directed through the series ofbeamsplitters 3805, 3823, 3825, 3827 and 3829 to the fiber gratingfilter 3857 which in turn modulates the swept signal and by comparingthe output of 3861 to 3855 the wavelength may be determined. Similarlythe output of the fiber sensor grating 3813 can be read out by theoptics/detector set 3857, fiber sensor grating 3815 by theoptics/detector set 3865 and 3817 by the optics/detector set 3875. Whileone fiber sensor grating is being readout by the tunable laser 3801 theother optics/detector sets have a fixed ratio.

FIG. 50 illustrates the case where two by two couplers are used. Asshown in FIG. 51 it is also possible to use 1 by n couplers to achievesimilar results. In this case the same light source 3801 is used toilluminate the sequence of fiber grating sensors 3811, 3813, 3815 and3817. The reflected light beams from these fiber grating sensors arethen directed to the 1 by n beamsplitter 3901 into n light beams each ofwhich is directed through a fiber grating filter and onto the outputdetectors corresponding to each fiber grating sensor. In the simplestcase the spectral signal would be modulated directly and not referenced.Reference detectors such as 3903 could be added with referencebeamsplitters such as 3905 to compensate for system level fluctuations.An alternative configuration would be to place a reference detector 3909at one of the output legs of the two by two beamsplitter 3907.

FIG. 52 shows a configuration of a multiplexed fiber grating sensorsystem similar to that shown in FIG. 50 where instead of the outputsignal detectors monitoring the optical beams passing through thefilters the light is reflected. This configuration eliminates cross talkbetween the fiber gratings. As an example the reflection from the fibergrating sensor 3811 is modulated only by the fiber grating filter 3955which is designed to modulate light only about the center frequency ofthe fiber grating sensor 3811. The modulated light is then reflected tothe output detector 3951. In a similar manner the fiber grating filter3957 acts only to modulate the reflected light from the fiber gratingsensor 3813 and in turn directs its modulated output light signal to thedetector 3953. The configuration in FIG. 49 could be modified to replacethe two by two couplers with a 1 by n coupler in direct analogy to FIG.51.

FIG. 53 illustrates a system comprised of fiber gratings in a singlefiber line with a series of fiber beamsplitters. This system can beoperated in a number of different ways. In the first case consider thelight source 4001 to be a broadband light source that might be a lightemitting diode or a superradiant diode. The light source 4001 couplesthe light beam 4003 into the beamsplitter 4005. A portion of the lightbeam 4007 is directed through a series of fiber gratings 4011, 4013,4015 . . . 4017 in the optical fiber line 4119. Another portion of thebeam 4003 that is split by the beamsplitter 4005 is split off into thelight beam 4009 that exits the system in FIG. 53 but alternatively couldbe used to support another line of fiber gratings. The reflected spectrafrom the fiber gratings 4011, 4013, 4015 . . . 4017 return to thebeamsplitter 4005 and a portion of these spectra are directed along theoutput fiber 4021 as the light beam 4023. The light beam 4023 passes tothe first fiber beamsplitter 4025 and a portion of it 4027 is split offto the reference detector 4029 along the fiber 4031. The signal from thedetector 4029 is used to monitor the overall light level of the lightsource and components up to this point in the system. The second portionof the beam 4023, 4033 is directed to the fiber grating filter 4035 thathas a wavelength designed to match that of fiber grating sensor 4011.The reflected spectra from the fiber grating filter 4035 is thendirected back to the beamsplitter 4025 and onto the detector 4036. In asimilar manner reflections from the fiber grating filters 4037, 4039 and4041 are directed to the detectors 4043, 4045 and 4047. Note that thefirst detector 4036 response includes signals that include reflectionsfrom all the filters 4035, 4037, 4039 and 4041. These reflections arereduced in intensity through the action of the beamsplitters 4025, 4051,4053 and 4055. Since there are n signals from the n fiber gratingspectra reflected by the filters 4035, 4037, 4039 and 4041 that aredirected to the output detectors 4036, 4043, 4045 and 4047 a system ofequations is established that can be used to separate the signals foreach individual sensor 4011, 4013, 4015 and 4017. The reference detector4029 can be used to establish a baseline to compensate for light source4001 and system level fluctuations before the string of fiber gratingfilters 4035, 4037, 4039 and 4041.

A second means to operate the system of FIG. 53 is to have the lightsource 4001 be tunable over the range of the fiber grating sensors 4011,4013, 4015 and 4017. In this case as the light source is tuned overfiber grating 4011 a reflection off this grating reflects off the filter4035. A portion of the reflected signal is directed to the outputdetector 4029 that can be referenced against the output monitoringdetector 4037. In a similar manner fiber grating sensor 4013 can bemonitored via fiber grating filter 4037 using the output detector 4043.Fiber grating sensor 4015 can be monitored via fiber grating filter 4039and output detector 4045. Fiber grating sensor 4017 can be monitored viafiber grating filter 4041 and output detector 4047. Since only one fibergrating is illuminated at a time the signals on the output detectors4036, 4043, 4045 and 4047 are not mixed and it is not necessary to solvea series of equations. The limitations of this approach rather than thefirst one described in association with FIG. 53 involve the speed withwhich the light source may be tuned limiting the overall response of thesystem and the cost of the tunable light source relative to a broadbandone such as a light emitting diode.

FIG. 54 is similar to FIG. 53 with the addition of the referencedetectors 4061, 4063 and 4065 to aid in eliminating errors due tocomponent induced intensity fluctuations in the system.

FIG. 55 shows a system that also is a single fiber output configuration.In this case the light source 4301 may be a broadband light source or atunable laser diode. When the light source is a broadband light sourcethat illuminates a series of fiber grating sensors 4303 . . . 4305simultaneously, the light reflected off the fiber gratings 4303 and 4305is split by the coupler 4307 into the light beam 4309. A tap coupler4311 is used to couple a small amount of light to the reference detector4313 that monitors system level light fluctuations. A combination fibergrating filter/beamsplitter 4315 is used to modulate light reflectedfrom the fiber grating sensor 4303 onto the output detector 4317. Acombination fiber grating filter/beamsplitter 4319 is used modulatelight reflected from the fiber grating sensor 4305 onto the outputdetector 4321. By taking the ratio of the outputs of detectors 4317 and4313 the spectral fluctuations of fiber grating sensor 4303, which iscentered about λ₁, can be tracked and environmental changes measured.Similarly by taking the ratio of the outputs of detectors 4321 and 4313the spectral fluctuations of the fiber grating sensor 4305 which iscentered about λ_(n) can be tracked and environmental changes measured.

Many changes, modifications, alterations and other uses and applicationswhich do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention aredeemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by theclaims which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. An environmental sensor to measure moisture orchemical content, said sensor including: (a) a fiber grating positionedbetween plates, and, (b) a layer of material that expands and contractswith moisture or chemical content, and, (c) a clamp surrounding theplates so that transverse force is applied to the fiber grating as thelayer of material expands or contracts with moisture or chemicalcontent.
 2. An environmental sensor as in claim 1 further including: (a)multiple stacks of plates and layers of material that expand andcontract with moisture or chemical content to exert transverse force onthe fiber grating.
 3. An environmental sensor as in claim 1 furtherincluding: (a) one of the plates having a V groove to position theoptical fiber.
 4. An environmental sensor as in claim 3 furtherincluding: (a) guides to position the plates for optimum transverseloading of the optical fiber grating.
 5. An environmental sensor as inclaim 3 further including: (a) a second fiber grating positioned in asecond V groove plate opposite said first fiber grating and V grooveplate, and, (b) centered dual separated plates with a layer ofmoisture/chemically responsive material between.
 6. An environmentalsensor as recited in claim 1 further including: (a) an optical fiberwithout a fiber grating, positioned in substantially the sameorientation as the optical fiber containing the fiber grating, and (b) adual parallel V groove plate in which the optical fiber with the fibergrating and the optical fiber without a fiber grating are positioned. 7.An environmental sensor as recited in claim 1 further including: (a)plates with a beveled edge containing the layer of material that expandsor contracts with the presence of moisture or chemical content.
 8. Anenvironmental sensor as recited in claim 1 further including: (a) platesthat are permeable to moisture or chemical content.
 9. An environmentalsensor as recited in claim 1 further including: (a) a triple V groovefor one plate with the two outer grooves containing fibers without fibergratings and the center fiber containing a fiber grating.
 10. Anenvironmental sensor as recited in claim 1 further including: (a) thelayer of material that expands or contracts being placed substantiallyon the fiber containing the fiber grating.
 11. An environmental sensoras recited in claim 1 further comprising: (a) composite material placedaround the fiber grating to orient it.
 12. An environment sensor asrecited in claim 11 further including: (a) a layer of material thatexpands or contracts with moisture or chemical content between the twoplates that exert transverse force.
 13. An environmental fiber gratingstrain sensor including: (a) birefringent optical fiber with a fibergrating written into it, and, (b) a coating surrounding said fiber, and(c) flats impressed on the coating to indicate orientation of thebirefringent axes.
 14. An environmental fiber grating strain sensor asrecited in claim 13, further including: (a) a plurality of fibergratings.
 15. An environmental fiber grating strain sensor as recited inclaim 13, further including: (a) said coating being moisture/chemicalcontent responsive.